myxomatosis

American  

[mik-suh-muh-toh-sis] / ˌmɪk sə məˈtoʊ sɪs /

noun

1. Pathology.

   1. a condition characterized by the presence of many myxomas.

   2. myxomatous degeneration.

2. Veterinary Pathology. a highly infectious viral disease of rabbits, artificially introduced into Great Britain and Australia to reduce the rabbit population.

---

myxomatosis British  

/ ˌmɪksəməˈtəʊsɪs /

noun

1. an infectious and usually fatal viral disease of rabbits characterized by swelling of the mucous membranes and formation of skin tumours; transmitted by flea bites

---

Etymology

Origin of myxomatosis

1925–30; < New Latin myxomat- (stem of myxoma; see myx-, -oma) + -osis

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

myxomatosis

Allan Johnstone, from the Tweeddale Red Squirrel Network, said it was a "terrible disease" which had similar effects on squirrels to myxomatosis in rabbits.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026

Next, in the 1950s, the introduced virus myxomatosis razed the rabbit population, reducing competition for grain and helping cockatoo populations to flourish.

From New York Times ● Jun. 10, 2022

Peter Rabbit, older and stouter, is involved, and fans will be relieved to learn that there are no Atticus-Finch-like revelations—no blights of myxomatosis, no catastrophic burrowing incidents—about the later years of this beloved character.

From The New Yorker ● Feb. 1, 2016

As he trailed sadly off, the stump mike caught his rueful rendition of Larkin’s myxomatosis: Caught in the centre of a soundless field While hot inexplicable hours go by What trap is this?

From The Guardian ● Jan. 2, 2016

For example, when the rabbits all over England died of the introduced rabbit disease, myxomatosis, the foxes didn’t have much left to eat, so they began killing the farmers’ chickens.

From "My Life with the Chimpanzees" by Jane Goodall